Recording apparatus



Oct. 29, 1940. J. w. some;

RECORDING; APPARATUS Filed May 21, 193"! 3 Sheets-Sheet J.

Siesii?rizziils 2 IM EN O Jail #7501111; BY

, Xa/rw hjonovi ATTORNEYS Oct. 29, 19 w w s Ns 2,219,458

RECORDING APPARATUS Filed May 21, 1937 c 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORfifth/7.1211115 BY 5 ATTO R N EYS {31:31. 29, 1940. J. W. SOHNSRECORDING AEPARATUS Filed lay 21, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3IIIIIIIIII'IIIIIIIII! INVENTOR Ji fin W Johns BY Q ZZ Km 3 S moa tATTORNEY Patented Oct. 29, 1940 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE RECORDINGAPPARATUS John W. Solms, Bronxviile, N. Y. Application May 21, 1937,Serial No. 143,932

Claims.

This invention relates to a structurally and functionally improvedrecording apparatus, capable of use in numerous different connectionsbut primarily intended for the'recordation and 5 duplication of checks,record sheets, ledger pages,

and any other data sheets.

It is an object of the invention to provide a unit of this character andby means of which both sides of a record sheet or strip will berecorded. In other words, the present apparatus will include a structuresuch that substantial portions of the strip or sheet which is beingduplicated will not be obstructed or hidden in the reproduction.

15 A further object of the invention is that of providing a recordingunit which will require a minimum of manual attention, substantially theentire operation being of an automatic nature and free from theliability of error. This is 20 true even if such manual attentionas isnecessary is accomplished in a desultory and careless fashion in thatthe machine will-insofar as practicablecompensate for errors andcarelessness.

Still another object is that of furnishing an apparatus of thischaracter and which will include relatively few parts, each simple andrugged in construction and capable of operatingover long periods of timewith freedom from all difliculties.

With these and other objects in mind, reference is had to the attachedsheets of drawings, illustrating practical embodiments of the invention,and in which: b

Fig. l is a plan view of the reproducing or recording machine;

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof, taken along the lines 2-2 and in thedirection of the arrows of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 and inthe direction of the arrows of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view taken along the lines 4-4 and in thedirection of the arrows of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a view. similar to Fig. 3, but showing an alternative form ofconstruction, and k Fig. 6 is a sectional front view taken along thelines 66 and in the direction of the arrows of Fig. 5.

In these views the numeral i0 indicates a base, adjacent one end ofwhich a camera II is positioned. Adjacent the opposite edge of the basesupports I! are provided for the purpose of mounting a structurehereinafter more particularly described, and upon which the articles tobe reproduced are presented.

At this time it is to be understood that while a unit constructed inaccordance with the teachings of the present invention might be em- 5ployed for numerous diflerent purposes such as the reproduction of maps,ledger sheets, statements, etc., it will be of particular value whenutilized in connection with the recording of checks such as arepresented at banks and clearing houses. Accordingly, in the presentexempliilcations, the structure is of primary utility for use in thelatter connection. This, however, it is to be understood, is for thepurpose of illustration and is not intended in a limiting sense exceptwhere otherwise indicated in the appended claims.

As afore brought out, it is preferred to employ as the recording unitper se a camera. While this unit may take numerous different forms, itmay conveniently include a shutter actuating and film advancingmechanism controlled in any desired manner. This control as illustratedin Figs. 1 to 4, conveniently includes a lever l3 which,'when swung"downwardly resuits in an exposure and which when moved upwardly causesan advance of the film so that an unexposed surface of the latter ispresented for the next succeeding exposure. Secured to lever i3 is anactuating arm it normally urged upwardly by means of a spring Hi, thisarm being either connected to, or forming a part of, an armaturecontrolled by solenoid IS. The latter may be of the delay action type.In other words, if current is imposed upon its windin'gs, a structure ispresent such that an appreciable .interval of time elapses beforesumcient flux is built up to result in a retraction of arm M. This isnot essential but, as will hereafter appear, is preferable if astructure such as is 40 suggested is employed.

Supported between the mounting walls l2 are a pair of mirrors I! whichmay be of the surface reflection type and which are disposed at a ninetydegree angle with respect to each other ,5 and at a forty-five degreeangle with respect to a line drawn from their point of mergence and theaxis of the lens associated with the camera ll.

Extending substantially in this latter plane is a conveyor, preferablyincluding a pair of cords, wires, vor other convenient elements i8,having bodies of relatively reduced areas. The mirrors are supported bythe walls I! by, for example, using mounting strips l9 secured to theinner u platen 3!.

faces of the supports and extending in contact with the end zones of themirrors. The walls or supports l2 are moreover formed with slots in linewith the upper course of the conveyor. The cords l8 ortheir equivalentsextend through the slots 20 and at points beyond walls 'l2 pass aroundgrooved wheels or pulleys 2|. These are mounted upon shafts 22 rotatablysupported upon brackets 23 secured to the outer faces of walls i2. Themovement of these shafts 22 is preferably synchronized by a drive 24common to both of the same. The lower course of the conveyor may passthrough slots similar to 2B and situated below the lowermost mirror l'I.To properly guide the conveyor in line with these slots furtherelements-roller assemblies-25 may be provided and tensioning units 26may cooperate with this lower course of the conveyor and the drive 24,to maintain both of the same in properly taut condition. To this endthree separate units may be employed, each of which is coupled to adisconnecting switch 21 for a purpose hereinafter more fully set forth.

It is to be understood that units to be recorded may be fed to themachine by any desired automatic or semi-automatic type of mechanism. Inthe interest of simplicity no such mechanism has been shown, but insteadthere has been illustrated a hopper 28 having an inclined base it, overwhich strips or record sheets are to be individually passed to themachine. Within this hopper a deflecting shield 30 may be positioned toguide the records which' are to be reproduced and beyond this shield aplaten-3i is mounted upon a shaft 32. The base of the hopper is slottedand through this base a pair of rollers 33 extend and cooperate with theplaten surface. These rollers are mounted upon a shaft 34 supported bya'lever 35 rockingly mounted as at 36. The outer end of the lever isnormally maintained in depressed position by a spring 31. It is to beobserved that the rollers 33 are preferably closely spaced and arrangedintermediate the ends of As a consequence of this construction it hasbeen found that even if a sheet of paper is dropped into hopper 28 withits axis extending at a tangent to the conveyor, this sheet or slip willbe re-arranged between the platen in conjunction with the rollers, sothat it will lie properly upon the upper course of the conveyor. I

A motor 38 may drive sprocket 39, the latter being preferably mounted bythe shaft 22. In this manner the entire conveyor will be operated aswill also the drive 24. A gear Ml may be connected to the shaft and haveits teeth mesh with the teeth of gear 4! coupled to shaft 32.Consequently, the platen will also be simultaneously operated.

A' control lever 42 may be rockingly supported adjacent the receivingend of the machine and have its end extend between the cord member i8constituting the upper course of the conveyor. The outer end of thislever may be weighted as at 43. It follows that as a sheet or strip ofmaterial 44 moves incident to contacting platen 3i, the outer end ofthis strip or sheet will engage lever 42 to depress the same. As therear edge of the strip or sheet traverses the end of lever 42, itfinally moves to a position at which it clears the same.

Coupled to the lever is an actuating member 45 which may serve to open aswitch structure 46. As the lever moves upwardly incident to the stripor sheet shifting beyond the same, actuator 45 will be moved to closeswitch 46. This switch is connected to a suitable source of electricalcurrent supply (not shown), and to the solenoid l6. As afore broughtout, the latter is preferably of the delayed action type. Thus, evenalthough the unit may not be in proper position as lever 42 swingsupwardly, it will be in such position by the time arm I4 is attracted.The upper and lower faces of the sheet or strip will be reflected in thesurfaces of mirrors I1 and thus a single exposure will provide for aphotographic record of both faces of the sheet or slip beingsimultaneously made. Due to the fact that the conveyor cords l8 or theirequivalents are of relatively reduced width and, moreover, in view ofthe fact that they extend longitudinally of the sheet body, only aminimum masking of the under face of the sheet will occur, due to theseconveyor elements. In the case of a check, the endorsements thereonwill, of course, extend transversely to the conveyor elements, so thatpractically no objections can ever occur. Of course, insofar as. theupper face is concerned, it will not be masked.

It is apparent that any number of exposure actuators or controls mightbe employed in lieu of the one suggested. One further control ideallysuited for use in a unit of this type is disclosed in Figs 5 and 6 inwhich numerals heretofore utilized have been employed insofar aspractical,

to designate parts heretofore described. However, a light sensitive typeof unit 41 is preferably employed in the specific embodiment underconsideration. This unit in accordance with conventional practice mayinclude a light sensitive element combind with a light source within acasing. Also, preferably included within this casing is a relay, itbeing understood that an amplifier may conveniently be included in thisassemblage of apparatus. Such assemblage has not been shown or describedin greater detail because many units of similar type have heretoforebeen placed on the market and are well known to those skilled in theart. Suffice it to say that the apertures of the unit casing may bedefined by flanges 48. To the rearoffone of these apertures is' a lightsource and to the rear of the other of the same is the light sensitivetube. The light source may project against the upper mirror I? andreflect into the aperture in advance of the light sensitive cell. Thus,if this unit is focused as indicated in Fig. 6 against the upper mirror,it follows that the leading edge of the slip supported by the conveyorwill interrupt the flow of the light beam, thus energizing the relay tocause current to flow through the windings of solenoid 49. This solenoidmay be of the instant acting type and have its armature connected to ashaft 30 by means of an annular ratchet 3i with which a pawl 52cooperates.. A spring 53 may serve to normally urge the armatureupwardly to effect an exposure of a frame within the camera H and alsoto operate the shutter mechanism of the latter.

In conclusion it will be appreciated that the slip or sheet upon theupper course of the conveyor may be illuminated in any desired manneras, for example, by utilizing light sources 54 which act against theupper and lower faces of the sheet in order that data appearing upon thesame may be sufliciently illuminated that a proper photographic recordmay be made. It will also be understood that the switch 21 is connectedto the motor 38 so that in the event of conveyor failure, the motor willdiscontinue operation and thus attention will be called to the fact thatthe apparatus requires repair before a continuance of recordingoperations is permissible. If for some reason it is not desired toemploy a unit 41 which includes a light source,

then if the light source 54 is not suitable, an opening such asindicated at 55 may be provided through one of members I! and to therear of this opening a light source may be positioned for co-action withthe light sensitive element. In that case the element 4'! is, of course,shifted to the position indicated in dotted lines. Finally, if desired,a counting unit 56 may be associated with the machine and connected by alever 51 with lever 42 so that the number of sheets or strips passingthrough the machine may be tabulated. I

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention as afore notedare achieved. It is obvious that numerous changes in construction andrearrangements of the parts might be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A recording apparatus including in combination. a base, a pair ofreflective surfaces supported by said base in planes approximately 45from the horizontal, said planes merging at a point to one side of saidapparatus to form an apex, the upper reflective surface facingdownwardly and projecting at an angle upwardly from 'such apex, and thelower reflective surface facing upwardly and projecting downwardly at anangle from said apex, and substantially nonobscurlng supporting andconveying means including an endless flexible tautened member upon whichflat sheet articles may rest likewise associated with said base in ahorizontal position at a point within the area of the triangular prismof which said reflective surfaces form side walls and in line with saidapex whereby articles may be successively supported thereonsubstantially only by resting on the upper surface of said support andconveyed horizontally through said space between said reflectivesurfaces and may be viewed from the side of. said apparatus away fromsaid apex by looking into said reflective surfaces. the obverse surfaceof said articles being visible in the upper of said reflective surfaces,and the reverse surface of said articles being simultaneously visible inthe lower of said reflective surfaces, said a paratus also includingphotographic means, a light sensi-. ve means responsive to the presenceof an art cle upon said conveying means to actuate said photographicmeans. and gravity chute means for generallyfeeding said articles to theapproximate horizontal starting point of said conveying means andgravity delivery means for delivering said articles from said conveyingmeans after recordation.

2. A recording apparatus including in combination a base, a pair ofreflective surfaces supported by said base in planes approximately 45from the horizontal, said planes merging at a point to one side oi saidapparatus to form an apex, the upper reflective surface facingdownwardly and projecting at an angle upwardly from such apex, and thelower reflective surface facing upwardly and projecting downwardly at anangle from said apex, a substantially non-obscuring supporting andconveying means including endless elongated cordlike tautened members ofextremely narrow cross section upon which the articles may rest likewiseassociated with said base in a horizontal position at a point within thearea of the triangular prism of which said reflective surfaces form sidewalls and in line with said apex whereby articles may be successivelysupported thereon by resting on the upper surface of said support andconveyed horizontally through said space between said reflectivesurfaces and may be viewed from the side of said apparatus away fromsaid apex by looking into said reflective surfaces, the obverse surfaceof said articles being visible in the upper of said reflective surfaces,and the reverse surfaces of said articles being simultaneously visiblein the lower of said reflective surfaces, and means also associated withsaid base for photographically recording the images appearing insaidreflective surfaces when an article is in position on said supportingand conveying means, said apparatus including gravity chute means forgenerally feeding said articles to the approximate horizontal startingpoint of said conveying means and gravity delivery means for deliveringsaid articles from said conveying means after recordation.

3. A recording apparatus including in combination a base, a pair ofreflective surfaces supported by said base in planes approximately 45from the horizontal, said planes merging at a point to one side of saidapparatus to form an apex, the upper reflective surface facingdownwardly and projecting at an angle upwardly from such apex, and thelower reflective surface facing upwardly and projecting downwardly at anangle from said apex, a substantially non-obscuring supportingandconveying means including endless elongated cordlike tautened members ofextremely narrow cross section upon which the articles may rest likewiseassociated with said base in a horizontal position at a point within thearea of the triangular prism of which said reflective surfaces form sidewalls and in line with said apex whereby articles may be successivelysupported thereon substantially only by resting on the upper surface ofsaid support and conveyed horizontally through said space between saidreflective surfaces and may be viewed from the side of said apparatusaway from said apex by looking into said reflective surfaces, theobverse surface of said articles being visible in the upper of saidreflective surfaces, and the reverse surfaces of said articles beingsimultaneously visible in the lower of said reflective surfaces, meansalso associated with said base for photographically recording the imagesappearing in said reflective surfaces when an article is in position onsaid. supporting and conveying means, and light sensitive meanscooperatng with said photographic means and responsive to the presenceof an article on said supporting and conveying means to cause theactuation of said photographic means, said apparatus including gravitychute means for generally feeding said articles to the approximatehorizontal starting point of said conveying means and gravity deliverymeans for delivering said articles from said conveying means afterrecordation.

4. A recording apparatus including in combination a base, a pair ofreflective surfaces supported by said base in planes approximately 45from the horizontal, said planes merging at a point to one side of saidapparatus to form an apex, the upper reflective surface facing downsuchapex, and the lower reflective surface facing upwardly and projectingdownwardly at an angle from said apex, a substantiallynon-obscuringsupporting and conveying means including endless elongatedcordlike tautened members of extremely narrow cross section upon whichthe articles may-rest likewise associated with said base in a horizontalposition at a point within the area of the triangular prism of whichsaid reflective surfaces form side walls and in line with said apexwhereby articles may be successively supported thereon substantiallyonly by resting on the upper surface of said support and conveyedhorizontally through said space between said reflective surfaces and maybe viewed from the side of said apparatus away from said apex by lookinginto said reflective surfaces, the obverse surface of said articlesbeing visible in the upper of said reflective surfaces, and the reversesurfaces of said articles being simultaneously visible in the lower ofsaid reflective surfaces, means also associated with said base forphotographically recording the images appearing in said reflectivesurfaces when an article is in position on said supporting and conveyingmeans, and a light sensitive .cell respon sive to the presence of anarticle on said supporting and conveying means to actuate saidphotographic means.

5. A recording apparatus including in combination a base, a pair ofreflective surfaces supported by said base in planes approximately fromthe horizontal, said planes merging at a point to one side of saidapparatus to form an apex, the upper reflective surface facingdownwardly'and projecting at an angle upwardly from such apex, and thelower reflective surface facing upwardly and projecting downwardly at anangle from said apex, a. substantially non-obscuring supporting'andconveying means likewise associated with said base in a horizontalposition at a point within the area of the triangular prism of whichsaid reflective surfaces form side walls and in line with said apexwhereby articles may be successively supported thereon by resting on theupper surface of said support and conveyed horizontally through saidspace between said reflective surfaces and may be viewed from the sideof said apparatus away from said apex by looking into said reflectivesurfaces, the obverse surface of said articles being visible in theupper of said reflective surfaces, and the reverse surfaces of saidarticles being simultaneously visible in the lower of said reflectivesurfaces, means also associated with said base for photographicallyrecording the images appearing in said reflective surfaces when anarticle is in position on said supporting and conveying means, and alightsource adapted to be reflected by one of said reflective surfacesand a light sensitive element cooperating therewith and in .line withthe reflected light from said light source,

said light source and light sensitive cell being so positioned that anarticle on said supporting and conveying means will interrupt thetransmission of light from said light source to said light sensitivemeans and actuate said means for photographically recording said images.

- JOI-m W. SOHNS.

